Histology and transcriptomic analyses of barnacles with different base materials and habitats shed lights on the duplication and chemical diversification of barnacle cement proteins.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Barnacles are sessile crustaceans that attach to underwater surfaces using barnacle cement proteins. Barnacles have a calcareous or chitinous membranous base, and their substratum varies from biotic (e.g. corals/sponges) to abiotic surfaces. In this study, we tested the hypothesis that the cement protein (CP) composition and chemical properties of different species vary according to the attachment substrate and/or the basal structure. We examined the histological structure of cement glands and explored the variations in cement protein homologs of 12 barnacle species with different attachment habitats and base materials.

Results

Cement gland cells in the rocky shore barnacles Tetraclita japonica formosana and Amphibalanus amphitrite are eosinophilic, while others a

SUBMITTER: Lin HC 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8561864 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature